Difficult things about going straight through a book is you can't avoid things. And I can't avoid this passage, just a few verses. And it really is an introduction to what the more familiar passage in John chapter three about you must be born again. This is how he leads into it. John chapter two, beginning of verse 23. Now when he, Jesus, Christ, the Son of the Living God, God in the flesh. Now, when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing. But Jesus, on his part, did not entrust himself to them because he knew all people. And he needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man. If you've ever done any gardening or any farming, you know that not every seed grows. I've been told that a 90% germination rate is a really good thing. And if you're below 50%, you've got trouble. You can plant some seeds and they look just like every other seed, but you plant them in the ground and they don't thrive. In fact, they actually die. Why? Because they do not germinate. They don't have any life in themselves. Now the conditions for that seed must be right. that you need the right amount of light, and you need good soil, and you need proper temperature, and sufficient water, and you need some access to the air. And all of these things have their optimal range so that germination can take place. But sometimes, even when all the conditions are right, nothing happens. Nothing changes. The seed just dies in the ground. because they have no life in them. I think the same is true of what you might call the seeds of faith. Not all seeds grow. Not all faith is saving faith. You can see a campfire from a distance, but you don't feel any warmth as it were. Some apparent believers, some professing believers, they do not grow. They do not change. Why? Because they have no life in them. All the necessary conditions are present. They've heard the gospel. They understand a little bit about what Jesus was doing on the cross. They've seen something of His power and glory in the lives of other people, other churches, or throughout church history. They're surrounded by God's people. They see living examples of the grace of God. But within them, nothing changes. Nothing grows. Nothing happens because they have no life in them. They have no vital relationship with God. No vital relationship with God. They know Him, sort of are acquainted with Him. They can recite the Catechism. They can even say their prayers and go to church, but they have no living connection to the living God. You know, so they He's like a little sliver, an important part of their life, but they don't really know Him. Remember when people came to Jesus. This is one of the most horrifying passages in Scripture, too. Well, Lord, didn't we do this, that, and the other in Your name? Didn't we minister in Your name? Didn't we accomplish great things? And Jesus responded to them, I never knew you. Wow. We would have all looked upon them and said, they're growing, thriving Christians. Certainly they've germinated, they're serving, right? There's a real life in them, isn't there? But Jesus said, no, I don't know you. And even here he says, these people who believed in the signs, they believed because they saw what Jesus did. They believed something about him, but Jesus didn't entrust himself to them. And the word actually is the same word. You could almost say, they believed in Jesus, but Jesus didn't believe in them. Not all faith is saving faith. Some people are trying to be the Holy Spirit on their own. They don't need the Holy Spirit's help. I can believe on my own. I can change on my own. I can live the Christian life on my own. I don't need any help, thank you very much. I'm an American, an American Christian. I can do it on my own. I don't need God's help. I can be the Holy Spirit. But in our text here, there are some who see the signs and they believe. They believe something, something about Jesus. They know He's someone, but they don't know exactly who. But they didn't believe Him. Jesus didn't entrust Himself to them. They didn't have the life of God in them. In other words, what I'm trying to say is germination is regeneration. We all need to be born again. We all need to be born from above. We all need to have God give us life. We need God to make Himself known to us. We need to see Him. I mean, really see Him. Not just learn about Him. Not read about Him in a book and say, well, these are three things that are true about Jesus. No, to see Him, to know Him, to experience the presence, the grace, the power, the love God, to really see Him. I think that's what he's getting at here today. So our text is an introduction really to John chapter 3, when his conversation with Nicodemus, who was, as it were, in church, even a leader in the church, and he didn't know these things. We cannot see or enter the kingdom of God unless we are born again, unless we have new life within, unless we are regenerated. Notice at the end of this, our text, Jesus himself knew what was in man. And then in verse 3, or chapter 3 verse 1, and there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus. He's purposely tying these things together. Nicodemus is, as it were, the example, the poster child for what he's saying in these verses. Who believes because of the signs. In fact, notice what he actually says in verse 3, verse 2, Rabbi, this is from Nicodemus, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. And even though he said that, could confess that, Jesus still said to him, you must be born again. Many believed in verse 23, many believed. We could fundraise on that as a church, couldn't we? Many believed. We had this event and many believed. But they didn't believe. Jesus didn't commit himself to them. John, in his gospel, in fact everything he chose to put in the gospel of John, was intended to engender or germinate faith. That people would, reading this book, they would see Jesus. and they would respond to him. They would say, he is the Christ, he is the Messiah, he is the son of the living God. And that by believing, they may have life in his name. He chose all of these stories, all of these events, everything that he's written for that very purpose. So John is writing with a view to helping people see the glory of God. To experience the grace of God. not just to hear about the grace of God, but to experience it and to believe on Him in such a way that Jesus entrusts Himself to them, to see Him as the Son of God, to see Him as the supreme treasure of their lives, and to have eternal life. They saw the signs. They believed in His name. They were acquainted somehow with his power, with his authority, maybe he was a prophet. Maybe they even said he was the Messiah, but they didn't really understand what that meant. They thought he was going to be a conquering king or something like that. But they knew he was somebody, but they didn't know exactly who. No one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. So God is with him, There's something about Jesus. You can't read history without coming to that conclusion. I don't think you can read the scriptures without coming to that. There's something amazing about Jesus and the impact that a dying criminal had upon the world. One who had never written a book. And the world, as it were, bows down to him. Who is this Jesus? don't really know about Him. Some people, they know things about Jesus, but they don't commit to Him. They don't stand upon what they think they know. They don't submit to Him. They don't surrender to Him. One person put it this way, their faith depended solely on miracles, on signs. but they had no root in the gospel, and they could not be steady or permanent. They admire the power of God, so as merely to believe that it is true, but not to subject themselves wholly to it." In other words, they did not see through the signs to the glory of God. They didn't see it. They didn't They were, perhaps, willing to have Jesus commit to them, but they weren't willing to commit to Him. Sign faith is not enough. I saw the signs. I know something true about Jesus. Faith in the wow, in the astonishing, in the power is not enough. Seeing the campfire from a distance doesn't get you any warmer, as it were. We need living faith in Christ. We need the life of God within us. We need regeneration. We need to commit to Him. Now, we don't know exactly the signs. It says they saw the signs. We don't know what they were. It doesn't explicitly tell us what signs that he's talking about. He was in Jerusalem on the Passover, and just by being himself, he was doing signs. He was being Jesus. And Jesus couldn't not be Jesus. And so they saw him. They heard his teaching, perhaps. Maybe he did some miracles there that we don't know about. Perhaps it was the cleansing of the temple. But there were some signs, and they concluded that Jesus must be somebody. I wonder who he is. and some believed in His name because of the signs. They knew something true about Jesus, but they didn't know Him. They didn't know Him savingly. And I think there are still many, too many in the church that are stuck exactly here. They know a lot of true things about Jesus, but they don't know Him. They haven't seen Him. They haven't allowed, as it were, the power, the virtue, the glory, the love of God, the grace of God to come to them, to transform them. They haven't committed to Jesus. It's not a very popular thing nowadays, anyway, to commit to Jesus. They were seeds, perhaps, that are not germinated like Nicodemus. They needed to be born again. Jesus, in verse 24, did not entrust himself to them. That's really equivalent to Jesus saying, I never knew you. He didn't entrust himself to them. This is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent, that they know you. To know and be known by Jesus Christ is eternal life, is eternal life already begun. It is having been regenerated. It is the new birth. When we see Him and know Him and trust in Him and begin this saving relationship with Him, that means we have germinated, we have been regenerated by the power of God, and we commit to Him, and we act upon His Word, and we begin the heavenly life, and we begin, only begin, but we do begin to change. Have you ever known the horror of playing relational tennis? What? Relational tennis. If I take a chance and let her know how I feel, will she hit the ball back? If I ask her for a date, will she accept me or reject me? The safest course of action is to not ask at all. That's your powerful male masculinity. That's what they do. I'm too afraid to even ask. If I commit to them, will they commit to me? I can't risk the rejection, so I won't try at all. If I say I love you first, or if I kiss them first, will they kiss me back? Will they get mad? Will they say I love you too? Best not to say anything. Best to be non-committal. It's almost like, well, I'm ready for them to commit to me, but I'm not ready to commit to them yet. Are you ready to commit to Jesus? To be a fool for Christ's sake? To say to yourself, I know not only that it is true, but I've seen Him, I've known Him, and I can't deny who Jesus really is. What is sign faith? Wow me. Amaze me. Pay for the dates, open the doors. impress me, provide for me, show me signs and wonders, and I'll tag along for a while." That is dating Jesus, but it is not being committed to Him. How many people know Stephen Curry, basketball hero, best shooter that has ever lived on planet You know him, right? He can shoot the basketball really, really well. That is his sign. But does he invite you to his birthday parties? Do you know him? Are you acquainted with him? Or do you just know Stephen Curry by the signs? How well do you know Jesus? Is it just by the signs? John's gospel seeks to produce saving faith. In other words, we need to look through what he has written, we need to look through the signs, and to see what he is actually saying about Jesus. And when you see it, when you see what he's actually saying, what he's claiming about Jesus, then you either commit to him or you don't. You either germinate or you don't. You're either born again or you're not. Later in John, there were some of you, there were some of you who do not believe, for Jesus knew from the beginning who those were who did not believe and who it was who would betray him. And he said, this is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted to him by my father. And after this, many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So then Jesus, you can almost picture this scene, many disciples walk away from him. Then he turns to the 12 and he says, do you want to go away as well? Simon Peter, of course it was him, said, Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know that you are the Holy One of God. In other words, they committed. They were almost saying, Jesus, I don't understand everything about you, but what I see is amazing, and I can't deny, and I'm going to follow you even if I don't understand everything. but I'm committed." They know Him. They can't leave. They saw through the signs, and they saw the glory, and they were committed to Him. Again in John, this is a little bit earlier, so Jesus said to him, the officiant who wanted his daughter healed, Jesus said, unless you see signs and wonders, you will not believe. But the official said to him, sir, come down before my child dies. And Jesus said to him, go, your son shall live. And the man believed the word that Jesus spoke to him and went on his way. He believed the word. He was committed. His word is enough. I don't need to see the sign. His word is enough. But for those who lack a sincere commitment to and faith in Christ, Jesus did not believe them. Jesus did not entrust himself to them. Jesus couldn't do many great works in this place because so few people believed, says in another place. Jesus knew what was in their hearts. Isn't that a terrifying thing, to have someone really know you? to have someone see into your broken, confused heart, into your weakened, wounded heart, to really know you. That's why relational tennis is so hard, you know, because we are convinced that if people really knew me, they wouldn't love me. So I've got to be real careful what I reveal about myself. But to have one here, Jesus, knows what is in your heart. That could be a terrifying thing. Why does sign faith need to be born again? They needed to trust Jesus and not merely the signs that He could perform. They needed to know Jesus and actually commit to Him, rest in Him. They needed to entrust themselves to Him. They needed to surrender, to follow, to commit, to lay down their independence. Jesus knows what is in your heart. Does that surprise you? does that frighten you, or does that encourage you, or is it all three? Remember Solomon's prayer when he was dedicating the temple, this is what he prayed. Whatever prayer, whatever plea is made by any man or by all your people, Israel, each knowing the affliction of his own heart and stretching out his hands toward this house, then hear in heaven your dwelling place and forgive and act and render to each whose heart you know according to all his ways. For you, you only, know the hearts of all the children of mankind." I, as a pastor, I have been fooled by people before. you know, thought they were thriving Christians, godly, knowledgeable Christians, and they fooled me. I couldn't see their hearts, but Jesus can. He's never fooled. Jesus knows you. Does that surprise you? Psalm 7, let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous. The one who examines the thoughts and emotions is a righteous God. Some people, you know, they can fool the pastor. The pastor is so kind and sweet, and he'll speak grace to them and speak encouragement to them, and they're fooling him all the time. They don't really have faith, they're not really committed, but they want someone to say something positive about them. Nathaniel, remember earlier? Nathaniel, before they even met, Jesus knew him. I saw you by the fig tree. Saw you. I knew you. Heard your prayers. And here, Jesus knows all people. He knows what is in man. He is God. He is creator. You know, he wrote the manual. You'd think he would know things, and he does. He knows you. He knows all of you. He knows the best of you. He knows the worst about you. He knows everything. That's why God knows me. Does that frighten you? You know, God is a holy God. And if God really knew me, he wouldn't like me. There's some things that I've done, things that I've said, some things that I think a holy God would be against those things. I, the Lord, search the heart and test the mind, and I give to every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds. He knows what I do in secret. He knows what I'm really like. He knows me at my worst. He knows my anger, He knows my wandering, He knows my sin. And the thing that is so shocking and so amazing is that He knows all these things about you, the worst about you, and He still says, come to me and I will forgive you. No matter what it was, no matter how bad, I know you, you can't hide it from me. But I will give you grace, and I will forgive you." That is the most astonishing thing. That is the most life-transforming thing, if you ever see it, if you ever embrace it. The living God has set His love upon me, and I don't deserve it. That changes everything. I don't have to hide my heart anymore. I don't have to protect myself. I can entrust myself to Him because He has entrusted Himself to me. He offers me grace. That's where the encouragement comes in. He knows everything about me and He still loves me. That's impossible. No, that's grace. And that's what the Christian church has preached for thousands of years. And when people see it, they change, their families change, their relationships change, their culture changes, because they see it. Because they are transformed by the glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. By this we know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him. For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart and He knows everything. You know, you know God and you're committed to Him because He is committed to you. The seed has germinated. Faith is real. You've been born again, regenerated. Jesus, knowing everything about you, He still chose to come and He still chose to die. He still chose to give you life and to have you have life abundantly, to have you live eternal life. And if you see Him and His cross as the greatest glory, and it is, and if you believe in Him, the Lamb of God who takes away all your sins, you will have eternal life. One of the most difficult, terrifying perhaps, but one of the most maybe necessary and life transforming things that you can ever say is, Jesus, I don't know you, but I want to. Jesus, I know I've grown up in the church and I've heard all the doctrine and I understand and I even believe it and somehow I've seen the signs, but I want to see you. I want to know you. I want to have your life, your power, your virtue, your grace, your love transform me. I want to see it. I want to come to the campfire and sit right in its warmth, and I want to make some s'mores. I want to know you. To say that, to believe that, is already to have His life within you. The living God knows you. and he offers you grace, come. There's more to Jesus than just the signs. Come and see. Amen, let us pray. Dear Heavenly Father, your grace is amazing. Perhaps that's why it's so difficult to believe because no one else treats me like that. And yet, Lord, you know us and have set your love upon us. You have given us good news and called us to your side, called us to yourself, called us to union and communion with you, called us to begin an eternal relationship with the living, holy God. Lord, what an amazing thing it is that we offer for free because you told us to, because that was the terms upon which we came. And those are the terms upon which all will come to see the glory of God in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. We pray, Lord, that by your Spirit you would give us life, that we would see through the signs to the glory of God. And help us, Lord, who have seen you, to remember, to recall who you are and what you have done. and to live in the full acceptance that we have now in Christ Jesus our Lord. We have been born again. You have begun a good work in us, and you will carry it on to completion in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ. Grant us the joy and the peace of believing. We ask it in Jesus' name. Amen.